Stewart eyes Brickyard 3-peat

Wednesday

Jul 23, 2014 at 11:36 AMJul 23, 2014 at 11:36 AM

By David VantressTwitter: @dvantressHDN

HILLSDALE — To say the least, this week is a busy one for NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Tony Stewart.As an Indiana native — Columbus, to be exact — Stewart always loves running at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, site of this weekend's Crown Royal presents the John Wayne Walding 400 at the Brickyard powered by BigMachineRecords.com.But first, Stewart's efforts are focused on the NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series race tonight at Eldora Speedway in Ohio, the dirt track he owns.The Mudsummer Classic, a second-year event, will draw fans from 45 states and countries such as Canada and Australia.It's already one of the most popular events on the Trucks schedule, and that makes Stewart very happy."It's about as close to being a proud father as I can imagine being. It’s just a lot of work,” Stewart said.After the checkered flag drops at tonight’s race at Eldora, Stewart’s sights will be set squarely on Indianapolis.Stewart, a former IndyCar driver, never won the Indianapolis 500, the premier race at the beloved Brickyard.But he’s taken the checkered flag at IMS twice in his NASCAR career, in 2005 and 2007.Stewart goes for the hat trick this weekend and, as always, he’s excited to be back home again in Indiana. And since he’s still searching for his first win of 2014 — what better place to get it than at the Brickyard?“I hope it would be the perfect place — if you can’t win the Daytona 500, this is the perfect second to get your first win for the year,” Stewart said earlier this week. “So we were one of the teams that did the Goodyear test a couple weeks ago, and we felt like our car was quick.So I was pretty excited about that. It’s just a matter of going back and trying to keep that speed in the car.”Growing up 45 minutess from the storied speedway, a driver comes to see the Brickyard as sacred ground.Stewart still feels that way.“I don’t care how many times you win there, it’s never enough,” Stewart said. “It’s nice to have won two races already there. That gives you confidence of knowing what you have to do to win. It’s just a matter of doing it.”